Recent Gifts of Architecture, Design and Decorative Arts 

Since its founding, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art has collected architecture, design, and decorative arts, spanning the globe and thousands of years. Today, this collection numbers over five thousand works, from furniture to metalwork, glass, textiles, ceramics, and interiors. This installation features recent nearly two dozen recent gifts of decorative arts and design. Some exemplify how people used design in practical ways. Others blur the boundaries between so-called “fine” (traditionally painting and sculpture) and “decorative” arts today. The installation ranges from 18th and 19th Century British and American silver to exciting works of contemporary ceramics by Kansas City-area artists. All display the abiding creativity of their makers and the needs of their users — and the generosity of our donors who lived with these works and who help us continue to tell stories through art. 

Organized by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. 

Rui Liu (Chinese, born 1995). Hairmoeba, 2019. Metal, resin, ¾ x 3 ¼ x 2 1/8 inches (1.91 × 8.26 × 5.41 cm). The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Gift of Robert A. Hiller, 2019.59.  

Akio Takamori (Japanese, 1950–2017). Education & Labor, 1997. White stoneware; 30 3/4 x 10 x 9 3/4 inches (78.1 x 25.4 x 24.8 cm) (Labor), 24 3/4 x 9/12 x 7 1/2 inches (62.9 x 24.1 x 19.1 cm) (Education). The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Gift of Peter and Barbara Gattermeir, 2016.77.1.1,2. © Estate of Akio Takamori